Posts Tagged With: clothes

I grew up going to church camp in the summer. It was one of my favorite weeks (or two, if I could convince my parents to let me stay for another) of the year. When I was too old to be a camper, I became a counselor and did that until I went off to college.

Now, twenty years later, I am writing this post (a day ahead of time) from church camp again. This is our church’s week to have camp for all kids in fourth grade and up, all 250 of them! This is the kind of camp I could have only dreamed to attend when I was a kid. I have a harder time keeping up with the kids each year and I am not sure why they aren’t ready for lights out at 9:30 like I am! Still, what a great week!

Later today we will all head home, and one of the first things I will do is strip off my camp clothes, take a nice hot shower, and put on some clean clothes. It’s not that we didn’t shower or change here at camp, I just never feel totally clean until I am at home in my shower and then in clean clothes.

Paul talked about this earthly life the same way. We are here in a set of dirty clothes (3:5-9), but it’s time to get showered and start putting on the new clothes we were really meant to wear (3:10-15). Of course, by this metaphor he means there is a whole new set of thoughts and behaviors associated with the “new humanity” we are becoming (3:11). By the power of the Spirit, we are getting dressed to go home.

Each of these points needs a book of it’s own, but in this chapter Paul gives us some guidance on how to change our spiritual clothes:

Set our minds on the spiritual not fleshly (3:1-2)

Strip off the old clothes instead of just trying to keep them on underneath our new clothes (3:5-9)

There were parties aplenty in the early years of high school. Some not so great, many of them little more than huddles of insecure teenagers waiting for somebody to embarrass themselves or do something heroic. Given the scrutiny that anyone at one of these gatherings would be under, we all knew it was important how you were dressed. This was the mid-eighties so we segmented off by fashion — the preps with their pastels and popped collars, the jocks with their letterman jackets and team sweatshirts, the denim and leather crowd rocking a concert t-shirt. The styles varied, but one thing you didn’t want to do was show up to a party dressed in such a way that you would stick out.

Pieter Bruegel, “The Wedding Feast”

Matthew 22 starts with another parable, that of the wedding feast. This is coming to be a royal feast with all of the trimmings. The king has commissioning the killing of bulls and fattened calves. He has invited all of his friends to celebrate the nuptials of his son. The so-called friends snub the invitation and the king’s ire is raised. So he sends out his slaves into the streets to invite anyone who might like to attend. Many come and a great feast is had.

Jesus’ point is clear in this parable. The upstanding Jews and their religious leaders have been invited to celebrate God’s son Jesus but they have rejected the invitation. Now, it is no surprise that the rabble of society are sitting down to eat with Jesus — not to mention the Gentiles who will come next. They gladly received the invitation.

It is the ending of the parable I took notice of this time:

But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn’t wearing a wedding suit. (22:11)

The king is indignant and has the man thrown out with an empty belly and rejection.

A bit of background here might help. The guests who do respond to the invitation appear to be a poorer lot and they were not expecting the party. They would not have had the appropriate attire readily available. It also was a custom that a rich host like this one would provide the wedding clothes for the feast. Thus, if a guest is sitting in the feast without the prerequisite clothes, it is only because he has rejected the king’s clothes and desires to disregard protocol and decorum. It is this rebellious spirit the king cannot abide.

What is the appropriate dress for us today as we celebrate the upcoming wedding feast of the Church to the Lamb?

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:12-13)

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)

If the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ manifesto about this new kingdom he is bringing, what is truly important in this new way of seeing life? Jesus answers that question with as many explanations of what is not important as he does the affirmative.

The praise of your fellow man is not top priority. Do your religious acts like tithing, prayer and fasting but if you are doing those to get praise from your neighbors and friends you have missed the point. That momentary praise is all you will get. Kingdom-people seek the praise of the Father who sees what is done without fan-fare or the spotlight (6:1-18).

The treasures of this earth are not top priority. Nice clothes get moth-eaten. Piles of coins get rusty. Houses fall apart. Cars get dented. Jewelry gets stolen. Investment portfolios crash. Educational degrees become out-of-date. Power and status are lost. Beauty fades. All these treasures broadcast to the world what is truly valuable to us, and this may not be complimentary. Kingdom-people store up treasures in heaven. These will never fade away, lose value or be lost. And don’t tell yourself you can actually have them both; you can’t (6:19-24).

The needs of this world are not top priority either. Food, drink and clothing might be at the top of Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs,” and we do need these, but we don’t get them by seeking after them. God knows what we need and he will provide. The worry that comes from a preoccupation with these physical needs will only detract from our occupation of advancing the Kingdom. Kingdom people focus with faith on the needs of the world to come (6:25-34).

So don’t worry away with your “What’ll we eat?” and “What’ll we drink?” and “What’ll we wear?” Those are all the kinds of things the Gentiles fuss about, and your heavenly father knows you need them all. Instead, make your top priority God’s kingdom and his way of life, and all these things will be given to you as well. (6:31-33)